The Republican Liberty Caucus is one member shorter today. Our At-Large Board member Stephen M. Wright (pictured) passed away yesterday in a car accident. Steve, a candidate for Harford County Executive in this fall’s election, was heading to a pro-life event when he was in the accident.

Steve and I began talking in 2008 when some of the Ron Paul campaign supporters decided to form a Maryland chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus. Steve was assigned o work on the by-laws of the new organization. He was very thorough and took the job very seriously. He would call me often to ask procedural or logistical questions about developing the by-laws.

In 2009, Steve attended the Republican Liberty Caucus National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida and was elected to the RLC Board of Directors. Steve was a very active member of the Harford County Republican Party Central Committee and was Chairman of the Route 40 Republican Club in Harford County.  Last summer, Steve and his wife Krista attended a small gathering of some active RLC members from the DC area — see below photo.

We in the RLC remember Steve as a passionate defender of liberty, a family man and father, and as a dynamic speaker.  Steve’s passing comes just a year and a half after the sudden passing of another RLC member from Maryland, Patrick Citroni, who passed away in 2008 in a motorcycle accident. The Maryland RLC created a tribute fund for Patrick.

On behalf of all of the Republican Liberty Caucus members, especially those from Maryland, we will miss Steve and we send our deepest sympathy and support to his family in this difficult time.

Eric Dondero at Liberty Republican Reports:

Halloran already seen as a “Top US Politician.”

Dan Halloran, former Chairman of the New York Republican Liberty Caucus, and a longtime member of the Libertarian Party, won election to the New York City Council, representing an upper Queens district last November. Halloran was elected on both the Republican Party and Libertarian Party lines. He currently serves as the highest elected Libertarian Party member in the Nation.

Since being on the Council, he’s been a lightening rod for tax relief and loosening of regulations on small business. Now, he’s taking his hardline free market message international.

From the Sofia News Agency April 17 “Top US Politicians Vow Support for Bulgarian Conservatives”:

The conservatives, led by party leader, Yane Yanev and party members, Atanas Semov and Zhivko Temelkov were met in New York by Dan Halloran, who is a Republican, Libertarian, Independence and Conservative member of the New York City City Council.

Holloran greeted the Bulgarian delegation with: “The Republican Party stands by you, by RZS and Yane Yanev. You can count on us any time!”

The meeting brought a conclusion to a series of intense discussions with high-ranking American politicians, including former US Defense Minister, Donald Rumsfeld.

During the conversation with Halloran, the parties have exchanged ideas about the need t change Bulgaria’s Constitution in order to provide citizens with more opportunities to control State and local power structures. Yanev had appraised the US Republicans with his party’s effort to call a national referendum for a new Constitution, a move strongly acclaimed by Holloran.

Dan Holloran had further accepted to visit Sofia in the summer and share his experience in constitutional law, municipal management, and campaign organization. The Republican leader has agreed to lead a training course for the RZS candidates for the local elections in 2011, and invited Yanev to send young leaders to New York for education and training that would be financed by the Republican Party and the City Council. Other high-ranking Republicans have further stated their readiness to serve as moderators along with their teams for the RZS election campaign.

Note – besides Halloran, Libertarians also serve on the City Councils in Indianapolis, Springfield, MO, Cedar Rapids, IA, and numerous other towns and cities nationwide, most especially California, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania.

Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson is running for State Senate in Wisconsin’s 31st district, a rural western Wisconsin district that is Democrat stomping grounds. Mr. Thompson was a Libertarian Party member from 1999 onward, and was the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor in 2002 (in which he gained 11.5%, a LP record), but decided to switch parties in 2009 after the state Republican Party smartly begged him to run as a Republican.

Wisconsin RLC Adviser Aaron Biterman, who worked on Ed Thompson’s 2002 campaign, praised the endorsement. “There isn’t anyone in Wisconsin who can wrestle District 31 away from the liberal Democratic machine, with the exception of Ed Thompson. He is a trans-partisan leader who is a true believer in the principles of our Founders and he brings a vision of a free society to the public consciousness,” said Biterman.

The Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus was founded in December, 2009. Thus far it has endorsed Terri McCormick for Congress in Wisconsin’s 8th District, Rick Richard for State Senate in District 15, and Mr. Thompson. Said Michael S. Murphy, RLC Chairman, “We are proud to have Ed Thompson promoting our principles in western Wisconsin and look forward to hearing about his common sense vision when he crafts policy in the Wisconsin Senate.”

In his historical tour de force, On Power, Bertrand de Jouvenal traces the process of centralization of power in Europe from the fall of Rome. He paints a picture of an unstoppable centripetal force, power, whose ever tightening grip on humanity was hastened first by the increasing power of monarchs and then by the rise of democracy.   Prior to mass rule that began with the French revolution and Napoleon, war was limited by the resources of local feudal rulers.  Total war became possible with the rise of democracy and nationalistic centralization. The great wars of the twentieth century which saw unprecedented numbers killed were the product of nationalism, mass rule and socialism, indeed, of national socialism and socialism in one country.  These last are the ideologies of both the Democratic and Republican parties today.

For a century the United States showed that in the absence of centralization economic progress would come quicker, the public made better off, and war limited to local expansionism.  But the Civil War began a process of Progressive centralization, and elite Americans of the Gilded Age after the Civil War, envious of the status of German universities, sent their sons to graduate school in Germany and were surprised when they returned advocating ideas that would forestall freedom and progress.  Not having access to the ideas of von Mises, Hayek and Schumpeter, elite Americans adopted German historicism, according to which they, as an expert elite, deserved power and that power ought to be centralized to that end. They chose to remake America in Germany’s image fifty years before the rise of Hitler.

We live with the heritage of their nationalist and now internationalist Progressivism.  Progress has slowed; retirement savings are insufficient to cover the needs of the largest cohort of retirees in the history of the world; the Progressive health care system has faltered and  been redesigned to  restrict care; and for the past forty years Americans have seen the”promise of American life”, an ever increasing standard of living, betrayed and slowed to a halt as the Federal Reserve Bank and the federal government  have transferred ever more resources to banks and speculators.

De Jouvenal saw the rise of Franklin D. Roosevelt as the ultimate success of “power” in the United States.  But the process has taken longer and become more intense as the centralizers’ ideas, one after the next, have failed and destroyed sections of America’s freedom and affluence.  The nation retains its preeminent role because of  the nineteenth century’s gains and because its diminishing sphere of private initiative remains larger than under the rigid socialism that dominates Europe and the rest of the world.

No one can calculate the damage that power has done to the nation.  It is probable that, based on the absence of real wage growth since the gold standard was abolished in 1971 and the 2% compounded growth of real wages between 1800 and 1971,  the real hourly wage today is but 40% of what it might have been without the depredations of the federal and state governments.  But Americans are relatively worse off than that because of increases in taxes at the state and federal levels.

Both parties, Republican and Democratic, have participated in the relentless expansion of power.  The Republican is the more likely of the two to be transformed from a socialistic, elitist party, to one that represents freedom and decentralization. Hence, there is no more important task in politics today than that which the Republican Liberty Caucus has set before itself: to reform the GOP and transform it into a party of freedom and decentralization; to overturn the process of centralization of power; and to reestablish America as a land of freedom.

Given the low quality of public debate and the domination of the public media, this is a difficult task. Struggle we must.

Yesterday, the Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia voiced its support of SB 66, a bill which prohibits different types of discrimination in public employment — including discrimination against same-sex attracted workers. The bill defines “sexual orientation” as a person’s actual or perceived heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality, or gender identity or expression.

Several Virginia RLC members have been vocal on the issue, including David Lampo, who penned an op-ed in The Richmond-Times Dispatch, and RLCVA Board member Rick Sincere, who spoke at a press conference organized by Equality Virginia on the bill’s passage.

Said Lampo in his op-ed, “… Republicans could lose it all again if we let our party go back to the culture wars and religious extremism that some in our party seem to relish. Not only must we resist the divisive urges of the more extreme elements of our party; we need to restore the image of our party to one of social tolerance and support for individual liberty, two of the important values it was built on.”

He continued, “One of the ways to do this is to implement a policy of employment nondiscrimination for all government employees, including gays and lesbians. Virginia currently has no statute establishing a statewide policy against discrimination in employment for any public employees.”

Rick Sincere, a longtime RLC member, spoke on the issue:

The RLC received press hits in the Washington Post, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Fredricksburg Free-Lance Star. Governor Bob McDonnell has stated repeatedly that he opposes discrimination in state employment, including discrimination based on sexual orientation — affirming the RLC’s position on the issue.

If you missed the RLC teleconference with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, here’s a full 90 minute recording of his opening remarks and all the questions from the great crowd who called in.

Attention all RLC members, liberty activists, bloggers and anyone else on the cutting edge of the liberty movement.

In the first in a series of teleconference events, the Republican Liberty Caucus presents:

Former Governor

Gary E. Johnson

of New Mexico

January 26th at 9pm EST

Dial-in Number: 1-219-509-8222

Participant Access Code: 618486

Just call in, enter your code and follow along.

The teleconference will feature 20-30 minutes of remarks by Governor Johnson followed by an hour for questions and answers from participants.

The teleconference series brings together pro-liberty newsmakers and RLC members, friendly media and liberty-oriented bloggers to increase awareness of the RLC candidates, issue initiatives, allied organizations and important events.

Governor Johnson served two very successful terms as Governor of New Mexico and has been a champion of individual liberties and fiscally responsible government, often compared favorably with Ron Paul.  Although there has been speculation about a possilbe 2012 GOP presidential run, Governor Johnson is now working hard on hiis Our America Initiative which is promoting popular awareness of civil liberties, free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values.

For more information see Mitchell Langbert’s recent interview with Governor Johnson.

Don’t miss the teleconference. Space is limited, so call in on time.

Governor Gary E. Johnson has been called the next Ron Paul.  He has not yet announced his candidacy for president, but has been widely mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate who reflects the Tea Party’s and liberty Republicans’ perspectives.

I recently blogged about Governor Johnson’s background.  He received good grades from the Cato Institute when he was governor and has a taste for honesty that is rare in politics and business today.

Besides serving as governor of New Mexico for two terms, he had built a significant corporation from scratch, which he sold in 1999.  Readers who would like to contribute or help Governor Johnson can find contact information on http://ouramericainitiative.com/. He also has a Facebook group page with 2,000 members.

Langbert: Governor Johnson, it is a privilege to interview you.  I teach business administration at Brooklyn College.  What are three things that you learned from your business career that could be applied to the federal government or that you did apply as governor of New Mexico?

Johnson: I started my company in 1974 and I was the only employee.  In 1994 we had 1,000 employees.  Things that I learned and applied as governor include the importance of hiring good people; cutting mistakes short; and sticking to basic principles.

I’m good at hiring people and have a great track record.  But mistakes are inevitable. When you make a mistake in hiring, you need to cut it short.   As governor, I avoided political appointments as much as possible.  There was one instance where I was forced to make one, and I closely monitored the individual’s performance.

The obvious things are most important. The basic principles:  being on time, sticking to principles, telling people to tell the truth.  As governor, I sat down in cabinet meetings and I told people to tell the truth.

L: One of the realities of large organizations is the use of information to manage conflict and improve social compatibility and coordination.  Managers call these patterns interpersonal skills.  Might not 100% truth telling interfere with interpersonal skills? Of course, if everyone in industry tells the truth, costs and performance will be improved.

J: On the contrary, being honest 100% of the time makes it easy.  If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.  What you’re talking about is managing conflict.  Someone once said that honesty is where what you say and what you think are the same as what you do.  But of course you can say things that minimize conflict.

L:  To what degree is it possible to cut the federal budget? How would you go about cutting?

J: I faced the same situation in New Mexico as the president faces.  I could have cut big government in New Mexico drastically and no one would have noticed.  (That is, these government employees produce no value for the economy.) The spending train is out of control.  But the Democratic legislature fought me and the courts handed down adverse rulings.  The legislature was 2 to 1 Democratic.  Common sense has gone out the window.  First you have to stop the spending.  The time is ripe for doing so in Washington, and it’s accomplishable.

We are a bankrupt nation.  We’re not taking care of our own house. Unlike the generation before us, interest and principle payments are due now. The enormous budget deficits will lead to inflation and an ever weaker dollar.

L:  What is your position on the bailout and TARP?

J: I would have opposed both.  Government should not have been involved in this. The Paulson connection amounts to this being an inside job.  Why should Goldman and AIG be saved but not Lehman?

L: What is your position on health reform?  How would you recommend the system control health costs?

J:  I would recommend a free market approach to health care reform.  Increase supply through the free market.  Gall Bladders R Us. We ended up with an insurance entitlement rather than health care.  Extending the current approach will lead to shortages and rationing health care.

The same principle applies to education.  We should blow the lid off publicly controlled education.

L: What is your position on the Fed and the gold standard?

J: The Federal Reserve deserves full responsibility for the housing bubble and as well deserves credit for mitigating the bust.  Overriding that, the dollar is now worth a nickel.  I understand the arguments for a free market in money and I support them.  I shy away from the phrase “regulate the Fed” because I do not want Barney Frank deciding monetary policy.  I wouldn’t say the Fed needs to be abolished.  I understand the argument for a gold standard, though.  The US government should be pursuing a strong dollar policy, which the Fed hasn’t done.

L: What is your position on the Middle East and Israel?

J: I’ve been to Israel and the Golan Heights and I understand the threats Israel faces from outside and within. I can’t summarize my position as the issues are too complex. I do believe in a strong national defense.  But our security is not threatened by Iraq and Afghanistan.

L: Where do you stand on Iraq and Afghanistan?

J: I believe we should pull out of both and return our focus to fighting terrorism. The focus needs to be protecting America. I’m not sure if that is still the mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was surprised that Obama increased US presence in Afghanistan.

L: What about Social Security reform?

J:  Social Security is flawed.  When it was brought into existence the life expectancy was  55. Benefits started at 65.  Now, life expectancy is 75, and benefits start at about the same age. It’s a Ponzi scheme.  A combination of benefit reduction and/or privatization are necessary.  At least part of Social Security should include private accounts that are counted in your estate.

L: What do you think of making Social Security voluntary and converting it into a defined contribution plan?

J: That would make it viable.

L: What is your position on states’ rights and state sovereignty?

J: The states are 50 laboratories of democracy.  The burden that the federal government places on the states is outrageous.  The same is true of health care.  A return to federalism is needed.

L: Thank you, Governor.  I am certain that liberty Republicans will be interested in learning more about your ideas.